Dharma Quotes Thread

[plwk]

A Bodhisattva of the lay life,
Should vow that sentient beings
Will realize the empty nature of the household
And avoid oppression from it.
The Flower Adornment Sutra: Chapter 11 Pure Conduct

[plwk]

In taking refuge with the Buddha,
I vow that sentient beings
Will perpetuate the Buddhas’ lineage,
And bring forth the unsurpassed resolve.

In taking refuge with the Dharma,
I vow that sentient beings
Will deeply enter the Sutra Treasury,
And have wisdom like the sea.

In taking refuge with the Sangha,
I vow that sentient beings
Will unite and lead the Great Assembly,
All without obstruction.
The Flower Adornment Sutra: Chapter 11 Pure Conduct

[DNS]

Conceiving the real in unreality
while seeing unreal the truly real,
roaming fields of thoughts ill-formed:
never they at the real arrive.

Dhammapada 11

[plwk]

The god-son [deva putra] asked, “Mañjuśrī, what does vinaya mean?”
Mañjuśrī answered, “To subjugate one’s afflictions and to know one’s afflictions are called vinaya.”
The Vaipulya Sūtra of the Pure Vinaya

[plwk]

Śāriputra, taking the ordinary lamp as an analogy, its flame and its brightness are not apart or removed from each other.
As another analogy, the form and the luster of a precious jewel are not apart or removed from each other.
Likewise is the dharma body, as explained by the Tathāgata in the inconceivable Buddha Dharma.
It is not apart, not removed, not severed, and not different from the merit and wisdom of the Tathāgata, which are more abundant than the sands of the Ganges.

Śāriputra, the dharma body is the dharma of no birth and no death, neither of the past nor of the future, because it is beyond the two opposites.
Śāriputra, it is not of the past because it is apart from birth; it is not of the future because it is apart from death.
Śāriputra, the dharma body of the Tathāgata is eternal because it is the changeless dharma and the endless dharma.
Śāriputra, the dharma body of the Tathāgata is eternal because it is the everlasting refuge and it is equal [in all sentient beings] into the endless future.
Śāriputra, the dharma body of the Tathāgata is cool because it is the dharma of non-duality and the dharma of no differentiation.
Śāriputra, the dharma body of the Tathāgata never changes because it is the dharma of no formation and no destruction.
The Buddha Pronounces the Sūtra of Neither Increase Nor Decrease

[plwk]

“In brief, there are four reasons for one’s gradual attainment of Buddhahood. What are these four?
First, one attains Buddhahood because one’s faith in the Dharma is complete.
On the Ground of Character-Type, one definitely believes that dharmas, pure and equal, have neither birth nor death, and that there is nothing to wish for or seek.

Second, one attains Buddhahood because one’s understanding of the Dharma is complete.
On the Training Ground for Excellent Understanding, one has developed profound understanding of dharma nature and knows that Tathāgata work is neither constructed nor formed. One no longer sees the duality between saṁsāra and nirvāṇa because one has no fear.

Third, one attains Buddhahood because one’s verification of the Dharma is complete.
On the Ground of the Pure Mind, one has acquired the differentiation-free, silent dharma knowledge, and acquired inconceivable spontaneous karmas, because one no longer has the intention to seek.

Fourth, one attains Buddhahood because one’s meritorious actions are complete.
On the ultimate Bodhisattva Ground, one can remove all hindrances because the dream fabricated by ignorance has ended.
The Sūtra of Detecting Good or Evil Karma and Requital

[DNS]

That which is real they know as real,
that unreal, to be unreal;
roaming fields of thought well-formed
they at the real arrive.

Dhammapada 12

[DNS]

Should one a man of wisdom meet
who points out faults and gives reproof,
who lays a hidden treasure bare,
with such a sage should one consort.
Consorting so is one enriched
and never in decline.

Dhammapada 76

[DNS]

With journey finished and sorrowless,
from everything completely free,
for one who has loosened all the ties
passion’s fever is not found.

Dhammapada 90

[Roland]

"Thus shall ye think of this fleeting world: A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream; A flash of lightning in a summer cloud; A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream."

-Diamond Sutra

[Roland]

"Emptiness here, Emptiness there,
but the infinite universe stands
always before your eyes.
Infinitely large and infinitely small;
no difference, for definitions have vanished
and no boundaries are seen."

- The 3rd Chinese Patriarch of Zen

[DNS]

Through a thousand speeches be
composed of meaningless lines,
better the single meaningful line
one hears, then comes to calm.

Dhammapada 100

[DNS]

Even as the rain does penetrate
a house that's badly thatched,
likewise lust does penetrate
the mind uncultivated.

Dhammapada 13

[Luke]

"There is no need to change your existing body and mind, for the direct realization of the Way simply means to become enlightenment through training under the true Zen master. To do this is neither to be bound by old viewpoints nor to create new ones; it is simply to realize the Way."

--Dogen

[Adi]

Whatever joy there is in this world,
All comes from wanting others to be happy.
Whatever suffering there is in this world,
All comes from wanting oneself to be happy.
--Bodhicharyavatara, VIII, 129. (Shantideva)

[DNS]

As rain does never penetrate
a house that is well-thatched,
so lust does never penetrate
the mind well cultivated.

Dhammapada 14

[DNS]

Make haste towards the good
and check the mind for evil.
The one who’s is slow to make merit
delights in the evil mind.

Dhammapada 116

[DNS]

All tremble at force,
of death are all afraid.
Likening others to oneself
kill not nor cause to kill.

Dhammapada 129

[DNS]

Here one grieves, one grieves hereafter,
in both ways does the evil-doer grieve;
one grieves and is afflicted,
one's own base karmas seeing.

Dhammapada 15

[Schrödinger’s Yidam]

The intellect is a valuable tool, but it doesn't extend to the fullness of our being. In fact it can be a trap preventing our gaining access to the most profound aspects of our own nature.

ChNN: "The Crystal and the Way of Light" p. 68